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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're serving

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Speaker 1: up a smash hit.

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Speaker 2: Of a show all about the US Open.

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Speaker 1: It's Friday, August twenty second Happy Friday Slices. On today's show,

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Speaker 1: we'll be skipping the need to Know in favor of

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Speaker 1: a whole episode getting you prepped for.

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Speaker 3: This year's US Open.

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Speaker 1: You'll hear my live show from the US Open FanFest

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Speaker 1: with broadcaster and former tennis pro Pam Schreiber talking about

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Speaker 1: which players are hot and which are not entering this

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Speaker 1: year's competition, rule changes in the mixed doubles event.

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Speaker 2: And what makes the tournament so special.

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Speaker 1: Plus we'll dish out some fun facts about the Open,

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Speaker 1: some top moments in its history, and all time matchups

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Speaker 1: we'd love to see.

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Speaker 2: It's all coming up right after this Welcome Back slices.

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Speaker 1: Let's get started with some fun facts and background about

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Speaker 1: the US Open, the fourth and final of the four

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Speaker 1: Grand Slam tennis events of the season. The tournament is

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Speaker 1: a two week competition held in late August early September

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Speaker 1: every year that includes men's singles and doubles, women's singles

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Speaker 1: and doubles, mixed doubles, wheelchair singles, and doubles and quad

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Speaker 1: singles and doubles. The Open originated from the US National Championship,

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Speaker 1: which was created in eighteen eighty one as a national

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Speaker 1: singles and doubles competition for just men. Because, of course, thankfully,

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Speaker 1: the event did expand soon after, adding women's singles in

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Speaker 1: eighteen eighty seven, women's doubles in eighteen eighty nine, and

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Speaker 1: then mixed doubles in eighteen ninety two. All five competitions

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Speaker 1: were held at different locations until nineteen sixty eight, when

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Speaker 1: they were all moved to the West Side Tennis Club

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Speaker 1: in Queens, New York. At that point, the event officially

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Speaker 1: became known as the US Open. Now little tidbit, when

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Speaker 1: you hear folks talk about the Open era, they're referring

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Speaker 1: to anything that took place after that sixty eight name change.

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Speaker 1: That was also the point at which amateurs and pros

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Speaker 1: were allowed to compete against one another. Prior to sixty eight,

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Speaker 1: pros and amateurs had to compete in separate tournaments. Nineteen

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Speaker 1: seventy eight, the tournament moved again, this time to the

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Speaker 1: US Tennis Association National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. In

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Speaker 1: two thousand and five, the wheelchair singles and doubles events

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Speaker 1: were added, and the quad events were added in two

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Speaker 1: thousand and six. Also in six, the center was renamed

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Speaker 1: the Usta Billy Jean King National Tennis Center, and the

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Speaker 1: US Open is now the only tournament held at a

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Speaker 1: facility named for a woman. Spanning forty six and a

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Speaker 1: half acres, the BJK Center houses twenty two courts and

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Speaker 1: three different stadiums. The biggest is Arthur Ashe Stadium, and

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Speaker 1: with a capacity of nearly twenty four thousand, it's the

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Speaker 1: largest tennis stadium in the world. The US Open is

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Speaker 1: played on hard courts and has been since the location

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Speaker 1: move in seventy eight. It was contested on various surfaces

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Speaker 1: in the years before that. The US Open is the

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Speaker 1: only Grand Slam tournament that's been played every year since

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Speaker 1: its inception. Unlike the other Slams, it wasn't affected by

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Speaker 1: cancelation due to World War I and World War Two,

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Speaker 1: nor was it interrupted by the COVID nineteen pandemic. Fans

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Speaker 1: from near and far flocked to the bja K Tennis

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Speaker 1: Center every year to watch the world's best compete in

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Speaker 1: the most prominent tennis event on US soil. One of

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Speaker 1: the early stars of the Open, Mala burst Ed Mallory

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Speaker 1: holds the record for the most singles titles in the

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Speaker 1: history of the tournament with eight, but in the Open era,

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Speaker 1: Chris Evert and Serena Williams are tied for the top

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Speaker 1: spot with six titles apiece. This year, the Open will

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Speaker 1: become the first tennis event to reach ninety million dollars

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Speaker 1: in total player compensation, with the USTA once again offering

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Speaker 1: the largest perse in tennis history. This amount tops the

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Speaker 1: total of seventy five million in twenty twenty four, the

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Speaker 1: previous highest person tennis history. The men's and women's singles

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Speaker 1: champions will each take home five million dollars, up nearly

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Speaker 1: forty percent from the three point six million awarded last year,

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Speaker 1: making it the largest winning payout in the sport, and

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Speaker 1: for the first time ever, the winning teams from the

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Speaker 1: men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles tournaments will earn

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Speaker 1: one million dollars in prize money. In addition to the

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Speaker 1: spectacular play on the court, this tournament has also turned

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Speaker 1: into an experienced lover's dream off it from sponsor booths

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Speaker 1: to shopping bars and restaurants, a gaming zone, and a

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Speaker 1: stage for live events like our live show, plus events

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Speaker 1: like a block party tonight featuring DJ d Nice. And

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Speaker 1: you've likely heard me mention the delicious Honeyduces, a special

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Speaker 1: cocktail garnished.

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Speaker 2: With a melon ball that looks like a tennis ball.

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Speaker 1: If you've never been to the US Open, Slices, put

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Speaker 1: a trip to Flushing Meadows on your sports bucket list.

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Speaker 1: Such a special event to attend live. Speaking of Flushing,

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Speaker 1: one last fun fact. During the Nike World Headquarters tour

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Speaker 1: I did in Portland a few weeks ago, our guide

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Speaker 1: pointed out that in the Serena Building, the restroom's closest

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Speaker 1: to her collection of trophies and memorabilia are marked by

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Speaker 1: a giant photo of the Flushing stop of New York

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Speaker 1: City's MTA. Get it clever, Okay, Slices. Now they've got

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Speaker 1: a little background on the Open, Let's take a look

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Speaker 1: at some of the tournament's best moments. Here are our

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Speaker 1: top five in chronological order. Five nineteen fifty seven, when

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Speaker 1: thirty year old out the Theia Gibson became the first

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Speaker 1: African American to win the singles title at what was

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Speaker 1: then called the US Nationals. Gibson ended her tennis career

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Speaker 1: a year later in nineteen fifty eight, and then became

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Speaker 1: the first black woman to join the LPGA Tour in

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Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three. Here's part of Gibson's speech after her

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Speaker 1: historic title win, from the Thrill of Sports.

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Speaker 4: As a youngster playing Palell tennis, little did I dream

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Speaker 4: of a thrill such as this.

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Speaker 3: I want to thank God for all of you, for.

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Speaker 2: At this moment, more than ever, I realize that without

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Speaker 2: the united.

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Speaker 3: Help of all of you, this victory would.

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Speaker 4: Not have been accomplished.

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Speaker 1: I shall endeavor to win this title with dignity and humility.

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Speaker 1: Four nineteen seventy eight, when Chris Evert won her fourth

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Speaker 1: straight US Open title over Pam Schreiver. She'd go on

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Speaker 1: to win two more Opens before hanging up her racket

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Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty nine. Here's the call from her match

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Speaker 1: winning point in seventy eight from the US Opens YouTube page.

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Speaker 5: Or to approach shot.

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Speaker 1: There it is game seven, Matt Chris Evert seven five four.

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Speaker 6: Missus Everett so happy for Chrissy and rightfully saw three.

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Speaker 1: Nineteen ninety six, stephie Graff wins her fifth US Open title,

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Speaker 1: this time over Monica Sella's beating her for a second

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Speaker 1: straight year. Graff would play for a few more years,

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Speaker 1: retiring in nineteen ninety nine after a decade of elite tennis.

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Speaker 1: Here's the moment her ninety six Open win became official

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Speaker 1: from the US Opens YouTube channels one.

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Speaker 2: The US sulkand and has taken another giant step forward,

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Speaker 2: being unanimously regarded as the greatest women's tennis player.

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Speaker 4: Of all time.

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Speaker 1: Two twenty fourteen, when Serena Williams won her sixth US

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Speaker 1: Open singles title over Caroline Wosniaki, tying Chris Evert for

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Speaker 1: the most Open titles all time and securing her eighteenth

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Speaker 1: Grand Slam. Williams, of course went on to win five

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Speaker 1: more slams, ending her career with twenty three to her name.

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Speaker 1: Here's Serena after her twenty fourteen victory from the US

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Speaker 1: Opens YouTube page.

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Speaker 3: It is a.

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Speaker 4: Pleasure for me to win my first Grand Slam year

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Speaker 4: and then this number eighteen, so I'm really emotional. I

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Speaker 4: would like to.

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Speaker 3: Jack a Nast to do.

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Speaker 2: It at a better place and number one.

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Speaker 1: Twenty twenty three, when nineteen year old Coco Goff earned

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Speaker 1: a comeback victory over Arena Sablenka to become the first

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Speaker 1: American teenager to win the US Open.

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Speaker 2: Crown since Serena Williams in nineteen ninety nine.

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Speaker 1: Golf picked up her second major title earlier this year

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Speaker 1: at the French Open, once again besting Sabolenka. Here's a

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Speaker 1: bit of Coco's postmatch interview from that twenty twenty three

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Speaker 1: Open victory from the tournament's YouTube channel.

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Speaker 3: Thank you first to my parents.

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Speaker 4: Today was the first time I've ever seen my dad cry.

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Speaker 3: Uh.

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Speaker 4: He doesn't want me to tell you all that, but

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Speaker 4: he got caught in four K. You know, he thinks

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Speaker 4: he's he thinks he's so hard, but you know it's

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Speaker 4: not so Thank you guys. I mean you believed in

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Speaker 4: me from the beginning. I've been coming to this tournament.

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Speaker 4: My dad took me to this tournament, sitting right there

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Speaker 4: watching Venus and Serena compete. So it's really incredible to

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Speaker 4: be on this stage.

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Speaker 1: All these moments, all these players, so much legendary history

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Speaker 1: at the US Open. We got to take a quick

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Speaker 1: break when we come back. It's my conversation with Pam

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Speaker 1: Schreiber from yesterday's live show at FanFest. What's up, everybody.

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Speaker 1: We got a windy day here at the US Open.

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Speaker 1: But I'm from Chicago, so I'm used to it. And

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Speaker 1: you'll be so excited to see who's coming out to

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Speaker 1: chat all things US Open with you. We're gonna get

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Speaker 1: our favorites. We're gonna get our dark Horse says. We're

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Speaker 1: gonna get some tails from the Billy Jean King Tennis

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Speaker 1: Center joining me now. She's a former professional tennis player,

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Speaker 1: current broadcaster, pundit and coach, and Olympic gold medalists in

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Speaker 1: women's doubles. She was ranked as high as world number

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Speaker 1: three in singles, world number one in doubles, and she

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Speaker 1: and her longtime doubles partner Martina Navratilova are the only

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Speaker 1: women's pair to complete the Grand Slam in one calendar year.

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Speaker 3: They won all.

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Speaker 1: Four majors in nineteen eighty four. She's in the International

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Speaker 1: Tennis Hall of Fame. She's a past president of the

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Speaker 1: Women's Tennis Association. She did her first live tennis analysis

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Speaker 1: at age seventeen, and she's been commenting ever since she retired.

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Speaker 1: She's also a minority owner of the Baltimore Orioles. It's

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Speaker 1: Pam Shreiver. Pam, so great to have you here. The

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Speaker 1: wind is literally stealing the words out of my mouth.

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Speaker 1: So we'll see how this goes. Your bio is lengthy

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Speaker 1: and impressive, but I want to start way before most

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Speaker 1: of your achievements. Right here at the Billy Jean King

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Speaker 1: Tennis Center wasn't called that yet.

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Speaker 3: It was nineteen seventy eight.

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Speaker 1: You're a sixteen year old amateur playing here at the Open,

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Speaker 1: and you make it all the weights of the finals

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Speaker 1: before you lost to Chrissy Evert. So did you know

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Speaker 1: enough at that time at sixteen to even be nervous?

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Speaker 3: Oh?

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Speaker 6: Yes, I was extremely nervous. That was my rookie season

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Speaker 6: on the tour, my second major. I was actually seated sixteen,

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Speaker 6: so I did, which was the lowest seed you could

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Speaker 6: have at.

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Speaker 5: That time, and I just went on a run.

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Speaker 6: I had no expectations beating Avertelov in the Semis, and

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Speaker 6: I was scared to death to play Chris Evert, who'd

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Speaker 6: already won the US Open the previous I think four years,

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Speaker 6: and I'd never played Chrissy before. Our women's final was

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Speaker 6: delayed from Saturday because the Semis needed Saturday to finish,

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Speaker 6: So we played right before Borg and Connors. So it

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Speaker 6: was Everett Shriver, Borg and Connors. Yes, I was nervous, sixteen.

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Speaker 1: Years old, okay, So that was that's the first year

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Speaker 1: that the Open was played here in Flushing Meadows. How

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Speaker 1: different is it today looking out at this scene than

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Speaker 1: what it was in nineteen seventy eight.

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Speaker 5: Oh, it's it's very different.

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Speaker 6: All the majors, and especially the US Open, has innovated

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Speaker 6: their grounds. I look over towards Old Lewis Armstrong used

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Speaker 6: to be where New Lewis Armstrong was the second roof

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Speaker 6: that was built a few years ago. The Grandstand Court

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Speaker 6: used to be connected to Armstrong. Those were the two

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Speaker 6: big courts between nineteen seventy eight and nineteen ninety six.

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Speaker 6: Nineteen ninety seven, Arthur Ash, the biggest tennis only stadium

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Speaker 6: in the world, was debuted, and that was the year

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Speaker 6: Venus Williams came from outside the top seventy to play

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Speaker 6: Martina Hingis and that was an incredible run. So and

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Speaker 6: then the Williams sisters owned this house for so many years.

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Speaker 3: So you've literally seen it essentially from the ground up.

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Speaker 6: Yes, yes, I'm a little sorry I missed Forest Hills

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Speaker 6: by one year. But it's kind of neat that my

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Speaker 6: whole tennis career has been only at Flushing Meadows and

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Speaker 6: to have seen it grow and see everything that makes

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Speaker 6: it fun for you, all fun for the fans, especially

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Speaker 6: mixed doubles in the middle of fan week was unbelievable.

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Speaker 6: We already have our first champion, Bavasori and Irani.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I want to talk about the mixed doubles, but

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Speaker 1: you just mentioned there's so much going on here for

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Speaker 1: the fans. I was walking around. There are restaurants and bars.

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Speaker 1: There's gonna be a block party with DJ d Nice tonight.

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Speaker 1: There's coffee, there's food, there's merch everywhere. The FanFest has

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Speaker 1: really exploded. What's some of your favorite things to do

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Speaker 1: when you're just wandering around before you have to do

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Speaker 1: your analysis.

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Speaker 6: Well, if I'm finished work for ESPN, I might go

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Speaker 6: get a honey.

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Speaker 3: Deuce and couple couple honeyduces, maybe.

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Speaker 6: Second serf and I collect the cups. Yeah, I wish

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Speaker 6: my name was on the cup. I wish they had

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Speaker 6: doubles champions featured on the Cup.

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Speaker 5: You know, there's a lot of things you can do.

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Speaker 6: You can walk out to the unisphere, you can see

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Speaker 6: the statue of Arthur Ash and Althea Gibson, And the

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Speaker 6: theme of this year's US Open is breaking barriers. And

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Speaker 6: when you think what ALTHEA Gibson did in the fifties

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Speaker 6: as a black woman to win the US Championships, win Wimbledon,

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Speaker 6: be number one in the world was incredible And Arthur Ash.

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Speaker 6: How amazing that USTA named this enormous stadium after one

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Speaker 6: of the most impressive people at the Billie Jean King

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Speaker 6: Tennis Center. So we've had some incredible legends help build

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Speaker 6: our sport.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I want to talk about that tennis is so

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Speaker 1: rooted in tradition, and yet the sport and the US

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Speaker 1: Open in particular have worked to evolve with the times

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Speaker 1: in ways that I think are really smart and necessary

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Speaker 1: to keep encouraging young people to be interested and keep

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Speaker 1: diversifying the kind of talent that can come up through

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Speaker 1: the ranks and win it all.

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Speaker 3: So there's been things like.

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Speaker 1: HBCU Live at the US Open, Open Pride Day. Are

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Speaker 1: there ways you'd like to see the sport continue to.

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Speaker 3: Evolve or this event?

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Speaker 6: Well, some things near and dear to me through the

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Speaker 6: years has been I know for you too, Sarah is

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Speaker 6: multi sport athletes. I really want tennis to be a

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Speaker 6: sport that encourages young people who are great athletes to

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Speaker 6: play many sports. It prevents burnout, it helps develop your skills,

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Speaker 6: and I think early specialization is really bad. So I

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Speaker 6: wouldn't mind seeing other sports represented here a little bit

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Speaker 6: and seeing some skills challenge for young people. We got

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Speaker 6: to get our young people off devices, off the.

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Speaker 5: Internet and moving again.

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Speaker 6: And also, tennis the greatest family sport ever invented. And

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Speaker 6: I think back to playing tennis with my grandparents, my parents,

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Speaker 6: my siblings, and now my three kids, and some of

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Speaker 6: the greatest memories from the sport is playing with my family.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel like those giant Wilson tennis balls could

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Speaker 1: be reused as basketballs if you're trying to bring new

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Speaker 1: sports in there, we can set up a court and

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Speaker 1: start having some one on one using those giant balls.

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Speaker 6: And also I feel like some of the ten balls

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Speaker 6: that are used for early players young players, they can

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Speaker 6: be used in a form of pickleball that makes hitting

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Speaker 6: the ball to the paddle quieter, and I really think

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Speaker 6: that's a necessary step for pickleball to even get closer

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Speaker 6: connected to tennis, because I think all racket sports help

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Speaker 6: each other. The more people pick up a racket, the better.

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Speaker 6: And also i'd love to see some swimming in the fountains.

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Speaker 6: I'd like to see some you know, like a relay race, backstroke, reastroke,

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Speaker 6: butterfly and free.

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Speaker 1: You know, honestly, we were warned about Pam being a

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Speaker 1: bit of a loose cannon and encouraging folks to jump

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Speaker 1: in the fountains.

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Speaker 3: Sounds about right out of you.

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Speaker 1: I once jumped in the fountain at the Ritz Carlton

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Speaker 1: and Marina del Ray.

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Speaker 3: Uh oh.

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Speaker 1: I won't give you any more context as to why,

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Speaker 1: and what time of night and what I had had

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Speaker 1: previous to that, but it's not encouraged Pam.

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Speaker 6: Well, you bring up Marina del Ray, and you know what,

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Speaker 6: the first thing I thought of is the last time

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Speaker 6: I stayed in Marina Delray, I had a car stolen.

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Speaker 3: Well, there you go. I guess that's a different story.

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Speaker 1: We all got a Santa Marina dull Ray. It's not

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Speaker 1: good for either of us. Let's talk about the mixed

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Speaker 1: doubles that you mentioned. Big change for the Open this year,

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Speaker 1: The format different than any other event any other year,

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Speaker 1: different rules interviews mid match, a bunch of the top

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Speaker 1: singles players entering what did you make of the event?

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Speaker 5: I had a blast with it.

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Speaker 6: I was a little I was questioning a little bit

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Speaker 6: the fast for format, you know, instead of a set

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Speaker 6: going to six going to four.

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Speaker 5: It actually worked.

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Speaker 3: And I love.

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Speaker 6: Seeing players that are known more for just playing singles.

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Speaker 6: And then you had some players like Jesse Bogula who

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Speaker 6: played both through the years, and then you had the

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Speaker 6: double specialists, and it kind of proved that if you

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Speaker 6: only work on your doubles game in the in the

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Speaker 6: and how to cover a doubles court versus a singles court,

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Speaker 6: guess what, you have an advantage over the singles players.

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Speaker 6: So it was awesome that Irani and Vavasori were able

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Speaker 6: to defend their title, and they did have a little

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Speaker 6: chip on their shoulder for the other doubles specialists who

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Speaker 6: weren't allowed to play. But I thought it was spectacular.

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Speaker 6: I thought it gave fan Week just a great boost

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Speaker 6: this year and helps promote the main draw that starts

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Speaker 6: Sunday this year day early so quickly I was.

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Speaker 1: Watching a little bit of it and Igoshfiantek was serving

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Speaker 1: from a place you'd serve in singles and wasn't adjusting

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Speaker 1: for doubles, presumably because she has a lot of success

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Speaker 1: and it's hard to get out of that space that

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Speaker 1: you're used to. But that was one of the key

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Speaker 1: is was the doubles players know the angles. She was

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Speaker 1: setting herself up for some of those Pagoula cross court

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Speaker 1: smashes that she couldn't get to because she was out

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Speaker 1: of position. And I wonder if you saw anyone during

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Speaker 1: that mixed doubles that you thought, oh, they were meant

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Speaker 1: to play more doubles, and they're a singles player, they

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Speaker 1: need to get in on that doubles more often.

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Speaker 6: Well, I feel like Ega has all the athletic qualities

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Speaker 6: to be a great doubles player, but obviously, you know,

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Speaker 6: besides when she was a JUNIORSHPID a little bit in

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Speaker 6: early pro. It's just too hard to do both. But

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Speaker 6: I do think maybe by next year, assuming they're going

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Speaker 6: to do the same similar format, maybe a day later,

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Speaker 6: giving Cincinnati an extra day before the start of the mix,

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Speaker 6: I think I will stand closer to the doubles alley

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Speaker 6: because I think a lot of people saw what you

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Speaker 6: saw last night. I think Amanda Anasamovo got the finals

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Speaker 6: of women, and she also didn't know where to stand

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Speaker 6: in doubles. It is really a different discipline, but you

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Speaker 6: can certainly learn both.

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Speaker 3: I want to move on to the singles, but quickly.

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Speaker 1: Do you think it's fair that some of those top

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Speaker 1: doubles teams didn't end up making the draw in order

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Speaker 1: to make room for those big names. It draws a crowd,

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Speaker 1: there's a lot of excitement. I watched a lot more

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Speaker 1: of it this year than I have in the past.

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Speaker 1: But that's also taking a major opportunity for doubles top

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Speaker 1: teams and not giving them a.

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Speaker 3: Shot at that million dollars.

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Speaker 6: I can understand why the doubles only players were upset

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Speaker 6: that Moore didn't get in, but we would not have

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Speaker 6: had a sold out Arthur ash Stadium court on the

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Speaker 6: first day. We had great crowds in both Armstrong and

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Speaker 6: Ash And because of the way the sport has evolved

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Speaker 6: in the last couple of decades, very very few of

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Speaker 6: the top stars, even Coke ho goff Is, stopped playing doubles,

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Speaker 6: so you kind of needed the singles players to embrace

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Speaker 6: the mixed doubles in order to it to be what

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Speaker 6: the USTA imagine. So I know it hurt the Doubles players,

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Speaker 6: but if it makes Doubles better in the future, have

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Speaker 6: more high profile, more prize money, more attention, it's only

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Speaker 6: gonna help them.

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Speaker 1: One of the stories that made it out of the

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Speaker 1: Doubles was a Eroticanu and Carlos Alvarez.

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Speaker 3: Are they or aren't they?

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Speaker 1: Give us the hot Gosspam, give us the behind the scenes.

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Speaker 3: What's going on? Are they really just friends?

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Speaker 6: Well, given their posts, they certainly wanted everybody to ask

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Speaker 6: that question. Was Roni Khanu and Alcaaz? Are they dating?

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Speaker 3: To me?

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Speaker 6: It seems like they're just good friends. But you know,

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Speaker 6: good friends can cross over the line sometimes.

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Speaker 3: We've all seen one.

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Speaker 1: Harry met Sally and Challengers for that matter, So maybe

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Speaker 1: we're all just getting a little too excited about those two.

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Speaker 1: But I'm shipping them. I'm shipping them no matter what

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Speaker 1: they say. Okay, let's talk women's singles. One hundred and

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Speaker 1: twenty eight women in the main draw action starting this Sunday,

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Speaker 1: including Coco Goff, who you mentioned who made news firing

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Speaker 1: her coach Matthew Day just a couple days ago. What

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Speaker 1: do you make about that decision as this tournament's about

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Speaker 1: to get underway.

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Speaker 6: Well, the main reason why Coco felt she needed a

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Speaker 6: coaching change is that one of the most important shots,

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Speaker 6: if not the most important shot in tennis, is the serve,

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Speaker 6: and the service kind of left her since she won

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Speaker 6: her second major, Roland Garros in early June in Canada,

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Speaker 6: a couple of weeks ago, she served twenty four double faults,

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Speaker 6: still won a match seven to six and the third

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Speaker 6: over Collins. But you can't be serving fifteen double faults

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Speaker 6: and expect to win a major, and she felt she

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Speaker 6: needed somebody on her team that can really help with

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Speaker 6: the biomechanics of her serves. So she brought in Gavin McMillan,

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Speaker 6: who had just been released from the Sabolenka team, Which

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Speaker 6: is fascinating because Sablenka and Golf. Of course, they've played

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Speaker 6: in two major finals. Coco Goff won both of them,

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Speaker 6: and now Coco has one of Sablenka's coaches that helped

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Speaker 6: dig her out of the worst case of service ever

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Speaker 6: about three years ago. So that's a fascinating twist. On

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Speaker 6: the eve of the main draw.

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Speaker 1: Okay, let's talk about some of the favorites. We've talked

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Speaker 1: about two, Coco and Sablanca. Arena Sabalanca, let's start with

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Speaker 1: those two. What are you seeing from them as they

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Speaker 1: come into this Coco coming off a win at the

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Speaker 1: French Open, she won the Open here in twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 3: But you mentioned that serve problem.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, it's the serve and then also the forehand can

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Speaker 6: really let her down if she's feeling anxious about both shots.

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Speaker 6: I think if she kind of lowers the expectation on

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Speaker 6: the serve, gets a much higher percentage of first serves

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Speaker 6: in goes for a spin, you know, almost like a

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Speaker 6: second serve first sometimes, and then rely on her great athleticism,

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Speaker 6: one of the best backhands in the sport. I mean,

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Speaker 6: Cocoa goff can definitely win this tournament, but Cocoa Golf,

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Speaker 6: given what we've seen the last month and a half,

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Speaker 6: can also lose early. So take your pick anywhere in between.

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Speaker 1: Sablanca is having one of the most consistent and best

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Speaker 1: years without winning a Grand Slam, So what's holding her back?

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Speaker 1: She comes into this space presumably feeling great, looking to

438
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,000
Speaker 1: defend last year's championship here at the Open, and she's

439
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,479
Speaker 1: reached the semi final here in the last four years,

440
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:08,879
Speaker 1: so very consistent here in Flushing Meadows.

441
00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:12,520
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's been a brutal year for Sabolenka, who was

442
00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:15,119
Speaker 6: trying to win three Australian Opens in a row. She

443
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,560
Speaker 6: lost seven five to the third to Madison Keys. What

444
00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:19,840
Speaker 6: a great story, Keys winning her first major, and then

445
00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,480
Speaker 6: she had that crushing loss to Coco in the finals,

446
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,880
Speaker 6: another tough three setter where she didn't handle the lost well,

447
00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:28,560
Speaker 6: kind of didn't handle the microphone part of the loss well.

448
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,240
Speaker 6: And then Anasimova was too good in the semi. So

449
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:33,280
Speaker 6: you're right, when you're one in the world and you

450
00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:35,880
Speaker 6: get to two major finals in another semi and you've

451
00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:38,440
Speaker 6: already won three majors coming into the year, you would

452
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,280
Speaker 6: expect to have won at least one, Which is why

453
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:44,280
Speaker 6: she's gonna feel a lot of pressure here is she defends,

454
00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:46,399
Speaker 6: which is why I'm not sure she's gonna win, and

455
00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:48,080
Speaker 6: I don't think she will, all right, Who are your

456
00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,239
Speaker 6: other favorites, well, Sablenca, Cocoa Golf for my second and

457
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:56,159
Speaker 6: third IgA, Sfiantek. What Ega has done since a subpar

458
00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,280
Speaker 6: clay court season is unbelievable. She had more time to

459
00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:04,040
Speaker 6: prepare for Wimbledon. Got to the finals of a WTA

460
00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:07,159
Speaker 6: five hundred and bod Homberg Germany right before Wimbledon. It

461
00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,480
Speaker 6: gave her confidence going into Wimbledon, and when she hit

462
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,600
Speaker 6: the middle of the tournament, she was playing great, more

463
00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:18,160
Speaker 6: compact groundstrokes, better serve, winning free points with a serve,

464
00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,399
Speaker 6: and the way she went through the draw at the end,

465
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:22,240
Speaker 6: I don't have to tell you. She beat Benchic like

466
00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:24,600
Speaker 6: two to zero, and then she won in the finals

467
00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,639
Speaker 6: for the second time in major tennis history on the

468
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:32,119
Speaker 6: women's side, one Love and Love. She was unbelievably dominant,

469
00:23:32,119 --> 00:23:36,360
Speaker 6: and she won Cincinnati on a fast surface. So Schmiantek's

470
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:37,040
Speaker 6: my favorite.

471
00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:39,320
Speaker 1: Are you worried at all about fatigue? Because she won

472
00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:43,240
Speaker 1: the Senci Open on Monday. On Tuesday she won two

473
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,679
Speaker 1: mixed doubles matches short and format, but still and played

474
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:48,560
Speaker 1: deep into that mixed doubles tournament.

475
00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:50,560
Speaker 3: Is that just going to keep her primed and.

476
00:23:50,520 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 1: Ready or are you worried at all about her body

477
00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:53,840
Speaker 1: kind of being a little bit sore by now?

478
00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:57,880
Speaker 6: You know, I feel the energy and her whole attitude

479
00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:00,760
Speaker 6: has flipped from a couple months ago, and she's riding

480
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,600
Speaker 6: the wave, and when you have a wave of confidence,

481
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,760
Speaker 6: you kind of don't want to get off the wave.

482
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,520
Speaker 6: I hope she takes today off because the mixed doubles

483
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,959
Speaker 6: didn't finish till after midnight. Take today off and then

484
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:14,600
Speaker 6: I think she'll be fine. I think she is ultra

485
00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,560
Speaker 6: confident and she has a lot of belief now in

486
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:20,600
Speaker 6: the coaching partnership with whim Fact, she'll be ready to go.

487
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,000
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Madison Keys, Australia Open winner. She's got

488
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,280
Speaker 1: thirty three career wins here at Flushing Meadows.

489
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,840
Speaker 3: She likes this place. What do you think she's gonna

490
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:29,360
Speaker 3: bring this year.

491
00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,320
Speaker 6: Well, I think she's gonna bring a lot of confidence

492
00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:34,800
Speaker 6: and satisfaction that she's playing the US Open for the

493
00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:38,320
Speaker 6: first time as a major champion and a major hardcourt champion.

494
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:42,240
Speaker 6: The way she went through the quarters, semis and finals,

495
00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:46,000
Speaker 6: and then also told the story of how therapy helped

496
00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,439
Speaker 6: her come to really put the right perspective. She was

497
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,840
Speaker 6: a young teenager who had a lot of expectations and

498
00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:55,199
Speaker 6: she was never that comfortable and she always felt like

499
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:57,440
Speaker 6: she had the pressure to win. And I also think

500
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,720
Speaker 6: her husband born friend TAngelo, was at atb tour player.

501
00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:03,439
Speaker 6: He's been like the perfect coach to help encourage her

502
00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:06,320
Speaker 6: to switch rackets to something that was more suitable to

503
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,520
Speaker 6: give her a little more control. I think it's one

504
00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,320
Speaker 6: of the great stories of twenty twenty five.

505
00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:12,119
Speaker 3: Elena Rebakana.

506
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,520
Speaker 1: She has not had a great time here in New

507
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,040
Speaker 1: York in the past, but she's had some great semi

508
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:24,240
Speaker 1: finalists finishes in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati. She comes in looking good.

509
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,000
Speaker 1: Can she change up the narrative for her here at

510
00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:27,359
Speaker 1: the Open?

511
00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,160
Speaker 6: Sure, she'd be in the like four through six pick

512
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:34,240
Speaker 6: definitely with a chance. Ribakana has I think, since Serena

513
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,080
Speaker 6: Williams retired, the best serve in women's tennis. She can

514
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,840
Speaker 6: pound aces like nobody else in the women's game. She's

515
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:42,320
Speaker 6: got a beautiful backhand. She's another one that her backhand's

516
00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:43,680
Speaker 6: much stronger than the forehand.

517
00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:45,760
Speaker 5: Yes, of course she can.

518
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,600
Speaker 6: You know, there's a lot of shy people Naomio Saka's

519
00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:51,919
Speaker 6: side because she's won two US Open, but there's a

520
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:56,000
Speaker 6: lot of people that don't feel comfortable with this atmosphere

521
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:58,719
Speaker 6: in New York on that court with a noise and

522
00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,359
Speaker 6: sort of all the activity. And I think Rebakan is

523
00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:02,320
Speaker 6: one of those you.

524
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,639
Speaker 1: Mentioned Naomi osaka early exit in the mixed doubles. She

525
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:11,800
Speaker 1: has always seemed to find herself in the media, sometimes

526
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:13,479
Speaker 1: for good or for bad, and I think I have

527
00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:16,080
Speaker 1: a lot of empathy for her in the way it

528
00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:18,760
Speaker 1: feels like she struggles with the press and struggles with

529
00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,199
Speaker 1: her own emotion And she's been really open about the

530
00:26:21,240 --> 00:26:23,399
Speaker 1: ups and downs of being a professional tennis player, the

531
00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:27,959
Speaker 1: pressure that she feels, her interactions and relationship with the media.

532
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:29,400
Speaker 3: What advice would you give.

533
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:32,520
Speaker 1: Her on continuing to be someone who can be such

534
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,600
Speaker 1: a fan favorite and can also people can sour on

535
00:26:35,640 --> 00:26:38,200
Speaker 1: her quickly when she has postgame moments where she doesn't

536
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,680
Speaker 1: feel as gracious as people expect or things like that.

537
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:41,040
Speaker 3: Yeah.

538
00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:43,280
Speaker 6: Well, I think Osaka had a tough final a few

539
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,840
Speaker 6: weeks ago when she lost to Victoria Momboco of Canada

540
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:51,479
Speaker 6: in Canada, where the crowd in Montreal went absolutely nuts

541
00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,800
Speaker 6: for the teenage Canadian who was about to win their

542
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,080
Speaker 6: national championship, and I think it throw Naomi.

543
00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:57,399
Speaker 5: Back a little bit.

544
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,000
Speaker 6: And I also I think Osaka was disappointed she didn't

545
00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:04,919
Speaker 6: and listen, what other sport does the loser have to

546
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:09,640
Speaker 6: speak so quickly after a crushing loss, and we got

547
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,040
Speaker 6: to give a little bit of grace, whether your Sablenka

548
00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:16,520
Speaker 6: posts losing the Cocoa GoF in Paris this year or Osaka.

549
00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:18,600
Speaker 6: But you know, I have a lot of respect for

550
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,560
Speaker 6: Osaka coming back from the maternity leave, trying to get

551
00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,560
Speaker 6: the way she was when she won four majors on

552
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:26,760
Speaker 6: hard courts. But you bring up the mental health bit.

553
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,640
Speaker 6: It was really brutal Covid when the tours started back

554
00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:36,000
Speaker 6: again here you soap in twenty twenty, the press conferences

555
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,840
Speaker 6: were all virtual. Many of the press were off camera

556
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:41,800
Speaker 6: and so literally you would have a question come out

557
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,360
Speaker 6: of a computer with a name, and she's shy, right,

558
00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:47,680
Speaker 6: and it made her uncomfortable and I think we all

559
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,800
Speaker 6: have to understand that was a difficult time.

560
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:52,439
Speaker 3: Yeah, for sure, you mentioned Victoria and Bogo.

561
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,160
Speaker 1: What a crazy run and to do it in her

562
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,720
Speaker 1: home country in front of the adoring crowd. Excited about this, Benam,

563
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:00,840
Speaker 1: do you expect to see her being a little bit

564
00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,159
Speaker 1: of a dark horse potentially getting some upsets here at

565
00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:03,560
Speaker 1: the Open?

566
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,400
Speaker 6: You know, she's definitely gonna be a force in women's

567
00:28:07,440 --> 00:28:11,000
Speaker 6: tennis for years to come. I love her athleticism, I

568
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,280
Speaker 6: washed her in person in Paris this year. I made

569
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,240
Speaker 6: a point to go see her see her play. I

570
00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:20,000
Speaker 6: was really impressed by her talent. If she plays like

571
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:23,120
Speaker 6: she did in Canada, she can definitely make the second week.

572
00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:25,240
Speaker 6: I think it's a little too early to put her in,

573
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:28,320
Speaker 6: you know, even in the favorite say eight through twelve.

574
00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:30,720
Speaker 6: But watch out in years to come.

575
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,600
Speaker 3: Any other dark horses you're watching.

576
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,360
Speaker 6: Oh, I think there's so many great US players where

577
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:42,720
Speaker 6: it's like McCartney, Kessler is an example, Ashlyn Krueger. You know,

578
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,360
Speaker 6: there's some US players that are really good or comfortable

579
00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:47,640
Speaker 6: on a hard court, who are very hungry. And I

580
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:49,600
Speaker 6: like the way both the US men and the US

581
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:51,880
Speaker 6: women are all pushing each other. So I'm gonna look

582
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:55,160
Speaker 6: for maybe a US female rank somewhere in the US

583
00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:57,040
Speaker 6: between like five and.

584
00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 5: Ten to have a pretty good run.

585
00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,040
Speaker 1: All Right, You've had a chance to talk to lots

586
00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:03,400
Speaker 1: of celebrities here, and I wonder if there was anyone

587
00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,160
Speaker 1: courtside or in the press box or walking around that

588
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 1: you interviewed that you got a little tongue tied around

589
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:10,080
Speaker 1: anyone make it nervous.

590
00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:14,520
Speaker 6: Oh, there's some comedians through the years. I had a

591
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:18,200
Speaker 6: lot of fun with Why am I having Ron Burgundy?

592
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:19,160
Speaker 5: Remind me the.

593
00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,840
Speaker 6: Bill Ferrell Will Ferrell Will Farrell was probably the funniest. Also,

594
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:29,160
Speaker 6: isn't this terrible Spanish opera singer who sat in the

595
00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:30,920
Speaker 6: Doll's box Placido Domingo.

596
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,160
Speaker 5: He's from Spain. I got him to sing a note

597
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,400
Speaker 5: during a rain delay. That was really fun.

598
00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:39,920
Speaker 6: Michael Phelps is from my hometown of Baltimore, so after

599
00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,920
Speaker 6: I think it was after I think it was after

600
00:29:43,520 --> 00:29:47,200
Speaker 6: twenty maybe it was eight or twenty twelve. I don't

601
00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:49,560
Speaker 6: know how many medals he had, but I have one.

602
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:51,920
Speaker 6: So I said, hey, we're both from Baltimore and we

603
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:53,280
Speaker 6: both have an Olympic medal.

604
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,720
Speaker 5: You just have sixteen and I have one. I think

605
00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:56,320
Speaker 5: he ended up in.

606
00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,440
Speaker 3: The twenties, still more than me.

607
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,160
Speaker 5: Pam oh, I have one more sure.

608
00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 6: I loved interviewing a double interview Frank Robinson, who played

609
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,200
Speaker 6: for my hometown Baltimore Orioles, and Hank Aaron in a

610
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:14,160
Speaker 6: double interview to interview two MLB Hall of famers who

611
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:16,600
Speaker 6: hit over six hundred and twenty home runs.

612
00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 5: We know that Hank hit a lot more than that.

613
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:19,880
Speaker 5: That was cool.

614
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,760
Speaker 1: Incredible is there a celeb you'd love to see that

615
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:23,800
Speaker 1: hasn't come by yet.

616
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:26,800
Speaker 5: You know what a lot of them have been coming

617
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:28,080
Speaker 5: out the last few years.

618
00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:32,120
Speaker 6: I do think USTA in the US Open, if they

619
00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,960
Speaker 6: give them luxury suite access and tickets, they should talk

620
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:39,880
Speaker 6: to us on ESPN and share their moments.

621
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:40,480
Speaker 5: And their love of tennis.

622
00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:43,000
Speaker 3: I like that, Pam. Yeah, bully them into it.

623
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,400
Speaker 1: Last year, I was here one week before Taylor Swift

624
00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:48,400
Speaker 1: and Travis in the same suite they were in.

625
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:50,320
Speaker 3: I just missed him by one week.

626
00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:51,560
Speaker 5: Yeah, that was fun.

627
00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 1: You got to get them to chat with you, Pam.

628
00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,440
Speaker 1: I want to talk about something that happened a bit

629
00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,080
Speaker 1: ago because it really stood out to me and I.

630
00:30:58,040 --> 00:30:59,520
Speaker 3: Was so impressed with how you handled it.

631
00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 1: Had some words for fellow former player Omili Moresmo. She's

632
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:07,880
Speaker 1: now the French Open tournament director. She defended the decision

633
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,479
Speaker 1: to schedule only men's events during primetime viewing, and you

634
00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,280
Speaker 1: were really not just angry, but kind of offended by

635
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:17,360
Speaker 1: her defense when she was challenged on that. Are you

636
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:20,280
Speaker 1: surprised that, all these years later, after Billy Jean King

637
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,320
Speaker 1: and Chrissy Everard and so many other folks have worked

638
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,360
Speaker 1: for pay equity and equal opportunity, that there are still

639
00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 1: not just men but women defending the idea that men

640
00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:30,600
Speaker 1: deserve more of the primetime spots.

641
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,240
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's Roland Garros has been tough of the scheduling.

642
00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 6: They put the women's slake at eleven o'clock and usually

643
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,080
Speaker 6: by about three in the afternoon, the women are done

644
00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,960
Speaker 6: and the men play in the more popular late afternoons

645
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,240
Speaker 6: for TV and for night time. If people work, they're

646
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:46,920
Speaker 6: going to come to the night session. I think they've

647
00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,320
Speaker 6: only had two women's matches in the three years of

648
00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 6: night sessions, so it leaves you with a poor taste.

649
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,080
Speaker 6: And this past year was a third year Emily Moresmo,

650
00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,960
Speaker 6: who was number one in the world, won two majors,

651
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,640
Speaker 6: earned a lot of money through tennis, and that she

652
00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:05,560
Speaker 6: doesn't support women's tennis because this country has shown us

653
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,160
Speaker 6: and starting back with Billy Jean King and Chris Evert

654
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,440
Speaker 6: and Martina and the Williams sisters, that women have given

655
00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:17,400
Speaker 6: the opportunity and the right time, can carry their own

656
00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:18,800
Speaker 6: ratings in prime time.

657
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,720
Speaker 5: No problem. We outrate the men many.

658
00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 6: Times, but you got to be given the opportunity and

659
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:27,640
Speaker 6: it's just rankles me that it doesn't happen at Rolling Garros.

660
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:29,720
Speaker 1: Well, keep speaking out because I think we know that

661
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:33,280
Speaker 1: public pressure is often what moves people off of their position.

662
00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,080
Speaker 3: And in women's tennis.

663
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:38,320
Speaker 1: There is really almost no better sport to defend the

664
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,000
Speaker 1: fact that women should be given equal marketing, equal money,

665
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,920
Speaker 1: equal investment, because time after time it proves to be

666
00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,360
Speaker 1: something that people want to watch and is often more enjoyable,

667
00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,120
Speaker 1: longer rallies, and it's less about the big serves and

668
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:50,400
Speaker 1: more about the great play.

669
00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,280
Speaker 6: Well in the stories behind the women champions. And I

670
00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:56,840
Speaker 6: just want to again commend the USTA who started equal

671
00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:59,840
Speaker 6: prize money in the majors in nineteen seventy three and

672
00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,240
Speaker 6: it's been that way ever since. So a lot to

673
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:05,040
Speaker 6: be proud of in this country. And I just want

674
00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:08,960
Speaker 6: to see other cultures, other countries except the emerging market

675
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:09,960
Speaker 6: of female athletes.

676
00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:12,800
Speaker 1: I always defend the French when people say they're not nice,

677
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,920
Speaker 1: but this time I'm with you, Pam, get it together France.

678
00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:22,080
Speaker 3: So just a couple months ago, you.

679
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:28,200
Speaker 1: Personally had this incredible wild adventure going through the tragedy

680
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:33,080
Speaker 1: of the fires in southern California, evacuating your home, grabbing

681
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,880
Speaker 1: all your stuff staying in a hotel and your son's

682
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:39,440
Speaker 1: car was stolen with like half of your lifetime's worth

683
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 1: of trophies in the car. Can you tell us that

684
00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:43,960
Speaker 1: story and what happened?

685
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 5: And I'll try and tell it succinctly.

686
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,800
Speaker 6: But yeah, January seventh was obviously one of the toughest

687
00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:55,080
Speaker 6: days in California's history. I was actually in Hawaii with

688
00:33:55,320 --> 00:33:58,560
Speaker 6: our three kids. I shared three kids with George Lazemi,

689
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:01,479
Speaker 6: who's second James Bond, and I was supposed to leave

690
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:06,280
Speaker 6: for the Australian Open the next day. Bond Girl, Bond

691
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,960
Speaker 6: Girl and I got alerts on my phone that a

692
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,480
Speaker 6: fire had started in the Palisades and I had moved

693
00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,240
Speaker 6: my kid's dad because we're the only family in LA's

694
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:17,759
Speaker 6: from Australia, and I helped care for him.

695
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:19,160
Speaker 5: Now all these years after.

696
00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:22,520
Speaker 6: Our divorce, I had to get him evacuated safely from

697
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,839
Speaker 6: the Palisades. I had to step by step make decisions

698
00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:29,200
Speaker 6: of first delaying going down to Melbourne and then realizing

699
00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:31,719
Speaker 6: given the fires, and then it was coming towards Brentwood,

700
00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,080
Speaker 6: where I live up in the canyon Upper Bundy Canyon.

701
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,040
Speaker 6: Obviously I couldn't go to Australia. So I came home

702
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:41,000
Speaker 6: about four days after the Palisades fire started. Meanwhile eating

703
00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,799
Speaker 6: fire in Alta, Dina. So I came home to my

704
00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:49,520
Speaker 6: home area of Los Angeles with two beautiful villages basically destroyed,

705
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:54,000
Speaker 6: Pacific Palisades and Altadena, and right away, with a partner

706
00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:56,400
Speaker 6: that I've been in business with for about twenty years,

707
00:34:56,600 --> 00:35:01,480
Speaker 6: we decided to kickstart a chair already called Village Rising

708
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,760
Speaker 6: that was there for the Woolsey fire to help people

709
00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:06,000
Speaker 6: that were left behind. So we're in the middle of

710
00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:09,840
Speaker 6: raising funds to try and help parks with tennis courts

711
00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:14,880
Speaker 6: like Palisades Tennis Center, like Loma Alta Park, and like

712
00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:19,239
Speaker 6: Farnsworth Park in Altadena get their tennis programs back, get

713
00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:22,400
Speaker 6: the lifetime sport. And we're also helping some schools that

714
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:26,120
Speaker 6: lost their campuses that were left behind. So anybody who

715
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:28,319
Speaker 6: wants to help us out Village Rising.

716
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, Village Rising Foundation will be sure to put the

717
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:33,400
Speaker 1: link to that in our show notes for the podcast.

718
00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:36,759
Speaker 1: But people can always go to Village Risingfoundation dot org

719
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:39,319
Speaker 1: if they want to donate. Okay, So you do all

720
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:41,680
Speaker 1: this work around helping restore the tennis courts and the

721
00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:45,000
Speaker 1: villages around you, but you personally still have to restore

722
00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:46,920
Speaker 1: those trophies, so tell us what I have them.

723
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:49,920
Speaker 6: Yeah, the trophy story is interesting because we had all

724
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,839
Speaker 6: our cars. Well, I have three young adults that all drive,

725
00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:57,080
Speaker 6: so we had our three cars at this hotel parking lot,

726
00:35:57,200 --> 00:36:00,359
Speaker 6: and one of them, the most desirable for car, which

727
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,360
Speaker 6: was a Durango Dodge Durango, was stolen.

728
00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:03,839
Speaker 5: In the middle of the night.

729
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:06,960
Speaker 6: The thieves did not realize that in the back of

730
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:10,880
Speaker 6: that car, under some towels and blankets were all my

731
00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:15,080
Speaker 6: US Open Doubles trophies five, all my Rolling Garos five

732
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:19,480
Speaker 6: and seven Australian Open trophies. My Wimbledons were evacuated. They

733
00:36:19,480 --> 00:36:21,800
Speaker 6: were in a different car, so they were always okay.

734
00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:25,480
Speaker 6: But when I realized that they were gone too, I

735
00:36:25,520 --> 00:36:28,640
Speaker 6: got mad. And when I was reporting at the police

736
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:32,399
Speaker 6: station the theft, I went on my social media, which

737
00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 6: is Twitter, I have my most followers or x and

738
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,040
Speaker 6: I told people that a car was stolen. If anybody

739
00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,640
Speaker 6: sees major trophies from the following years, helped me out.

740
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:45,160
Speaker 6: In LA networks. They picked up the story and I

741
00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:48,880
Speaker 6: got them back ten days later. They were returned to

742
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:53,000
Speaker 6: the same hotel parking lot that they were stolen from.

743
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:55,680
Speaker 1: Well, the thiefs were like, well, I guess I can't

744
00:36:55,719 --> 00:36:58,279
Speaker 1: sell these now because everyone's going to know I stole them.

745
00:36:58,640 --> 00:36:59,600
Speaker 3: They're not worth a lot.

746
00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:02,920
Speaker 1: And they did pull up in a black SUV with

747
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:04,879
Speaker 1: a hood on and just sort of drop them off

748
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:05,759
Speaker 1: and peel out.

749
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,440
Speaker 5: They kept the car, Yeah, they did keep the car.

750
00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:11,440
Speaker 6: It's interesting the car and the trophies were worth about

751
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:15,600
Speaker 6: the same the trophies. I had them in my insurance

752
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:18,560
Speaker 6: program and it was eighty thousand dollars worth of trophies.

753
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:19,640
Speaker 5: I got them back.

754
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:22,200
Speaker 1: I think the lesson here is for everyone make sure

755
00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:25,879
Speaker 1: you split up your trophies in different cars, so if

756
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,240
Speaker 1: the car is stolen, you only have to recover half

757
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:30,720
Speaker 1: of your How many major trophies total?

758
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:31,680
Speaker 5: Twenty two?

759
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:32,520
Speaker 3: Twenty two?

760
00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:36,920
Speaker 6: Yeah, Actually the last one was in ninety one with

761
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:40,480
Speaker 6: Natasha Zvera of a Belarus I think she was Belarus

762
00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:42,719
Speaker 6: and first time we ever played together, and it was

763
00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:43,520
Speaker 6: my last major.

764
00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:45,239
Speaker 3: This is amazing you went out on top.

765
00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:45,680
Speaker 5: Yeah.

766
00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:48,800
Speaker 6: Well, I struggled the next five years, but I'll remember

767
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:49,800
Speaker 6: that one in ninety one.

768
00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:53,160
Speaker 1: Pam Shriver, who has been at this spot, right here

769
00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:56,480
Speaker 1: since nineteen seventy eight as a sixteen year old, now

770
00:37:56,560 --> 00:37:58,480
Speaker 1: giving us all the good information that we need to

771
00:37:58,480 --> 00:37:59,680
Speaker 1: get excited for this year's straw.

772
00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:01,280
Speaker 3: Thank you, Thank you so much, Pam.

773
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:02,360
Speaker 5: Sarah, thanks for having me.

774
00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:06,480
Speaker 1: We have to take another quick break when we come

775
00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:16,160
Speaker 1: back the head to heads that Big Citrus wants to see.

776
00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:18,280
Speaker 2: Welcome, Max Lays.

777
00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,200
Speaker 1: Sticking with our US Open theme, it's time to use

778
00:38:21,239 --> 00:38:25,600
Speaker 1: our imaginations and create some all time tournament matches. What

779
00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:28,040
Speaker 1: US Open faceoffs would we want to see if age

780
00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:31,080
Speaker 1: and era weren't a factor, If any player could match

781
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:33,279
Speaker 1: up with any other player in the history.

782
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,040
Speaker 2: Of the event, who would we want to see?

783
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:38,880
Speaker 1: Personally, I'd want to watch Serena Williams versus Steffi Graff,

784
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:42,080
Speaker 1: both in their primes. Serena's got the record for most

785
00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:44,880
Speaker 1: Grand Slam singles title in the Open era, while Graf

786
00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:47,640
Speaker 1: holds the record for most consecutive weeks ranked world number

787
00:38:47,719 --> 00:38:50,360
Speaker 1: one and astonishing one hundred and eighty six weeks.

788
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:51,960
Speaker 3: These women are.

789
00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:55,280
Speaker 1: Two of just thirteen all time to complete the Golden Slam,

790
00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:58,960
Speaker 1: winning all four Grand Slams and Olympic gold but Graf

791
00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:00,840
Speaker 1: is the only player ever to do it in a

792
00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:05,840
Speaker 1: single calendar year, nineteen eighty eight, those two in their primes,

793
00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:08,719
Speaker 1: that's a hell of a matchup. Meche said they'd want

794
00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:11,160
Speaker 1: to see Serena Williams versus Cocoa Goff. They said that

795
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:14,240
Speaker 1: sounds like a tennis match made in heaven, and Alex

796
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,120
Speaker 1: said she'd want to see Serena Williams versus Venus Williams.

797
00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,080
Speaker 1: She actually got to watch their last ever match against

798
00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:21,080
Speaker 1: each other at the US Open back in twenty nineteen,

799
00:39:21,160 --> 00:39:24,080
Speaker 1: with Serena winning sixty one sixty one, and she said

800
00:39:24,120 --> 00:39:27,120
Speaker 1: it was excellent but also pretty one sided. So she'd

801
00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:28,840
Speaker 1: love to have been in the audience when both of

802
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:33,399
Speaker 1: them were still at their prime. Basically, we all want

803
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,680
Speaker 1: to see Serena come back. We love that you're listening,

804
00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:37,960
Speaker 1: but we want you to get in the game every

805
00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:40,160
Speaker 1: day too. So here's our good game play of the day.

806
00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:44,040
Speaker 1: Send us your all time US Open matchups stars from

807
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:47,920
Speaker 1: the sixties versus today's top talent. Serena Williams versus noted

808
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,680
Speaker 1: homophobe Margaret Court. You know, just to see that be

809
00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:54,040
Speaker 1: put in her place. Everyone's fair game. Let us know

810
00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:55,880
Speaker 1: who you'd love to see go head to head in

811
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:59,920
Speaker 1: a singles battle. Oh, and slices, don't forget. The tw

812
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:04,440
Speaker 1: so Rossy Bench reveal in Door County, Wisconsin is tomorrow, Saturday,

813
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:07,839
Speaker 1: August twenty third, twelve pm at the Observation Deck at

814
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:11,440
Speaker 1: Whitefish Dune State Park. As I've mentioned in previous shows,

815
00:40:11,440 --> 00:40:14,360
Speaker 1: the reveal will be followed by postgame drinks, cheese curds

816
00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:16,680
Speaker 1: and hangs at the Hitching Post in Sturgeon Bay.

817
00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:17,560
Speaker 2: So come through.

818
00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:19,840
Speaker 1: I'd love to connect with as many of you slices

819
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:22,760
Speaker 1: as I can. Check my Insta and Blue Sky accounts

820
00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,840
Speaker 1: for a graphic with all the details, and we always

821
00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:27,279
Speaker 1: love to hear from you, so hit us up on

822
00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:30,880
Speaker 1: email Good Game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us

823
00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:33,680
Speaker 1: a voicemail at eight seven two two four fifty seventy

824
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:34,920
Speaker 1: and don't.

825
00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:36,520
Speaker 2: Forget to subscribe a rate and review.

826
00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:39,399
Speaker 3: It's so easy. Watch friend at the show.

827
00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:42,400
Speaker 1: Taylor Townsend Rock and Orcas and Dinosaurs at the Open.

828
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:47,000
Speaker 1: Rating two out of two teas for Taylor Townsend review.

829
00:40:47,560 --> 00:40:50,680
Speaker 1: Since her contract with Nike lapsed in twenty seventeen, Townsend

830
00:40:50,719 --> 00:40:53,200
Speaker 1: has been wearing off the rack gear to compete, but

831
00:40:53,280 --> 00:40:57,120
Speaker 1: she started embellishing it with an interlocking TT, the logo

832
00:40:57,200 --> 00:40:59,759
Speaker 1: for a namesake apparel brand that she's been developing with

833
00:40:59,800 --> 00:41:03,160
Speaker 1: a Lanta designer Alexander John. A New York Times story

834
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:05,359
Speaker 1: by Josh Levin revealed a few of the looks that

835
00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:08,600
Speaker 1: Townsend has planned for this US Open, including a kit

836
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,239
Speaker 1: inspired by orcas that we saw in her first mixed

837
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:13,440
Speaker 1: doubles match. This was an idea she got from a

838
00:41:13,480 --> 00:41:17,120
Speaker 1: celeb sliding into her dms on Instagram. Okay, so, after

839
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 1: winning a match at the DC Open, Townsend raised her

840
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:21,080
Speaker 1: hand above her head like a shark.

841
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:22,719
Speaker 2: Fin and actor Samuel L.

842
00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:25,719
Speaker 1: Jackson, who's a fan, messaged and told her She's not

843
00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:28,600
Speaker 1: a shark, She's an orca an apex predator.

844
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:30,200
Speaker 2: So she's got that fit.

845
00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:32,120
Speaker 1: But she also has fits for the Open, featuring a

846
00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:35,200
Speaker 1: Tyrannosaurus Rex theme, which is a tribute to her dinosaur

847
00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:38,319
Speaker 1: loving four year old son, and a phoenix rising. She

848
00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:41,080
Speaker 1: told the Times, quote, every time that a phoenix is reborn,

849
00:41:41,160 --> 00:41:42,879
Speaker 1: it has to burn itself to become new.

850
00:41:43,239 --> 00:41:46,240
Speaker 2: I've kind of been that throughout my career. End quote.

851
00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:47,720
Speaker 3: Very cool.

852
00:41:47,840 --> 00:41:50,400
Speaker 1: TT Let us know when you find an apparel partner

853
00:41:50,400 --> 00:41:52,600
Speaker 1: to bring your gear to shelves near us because we'll

854
00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:54,960
Speaker 1: be first in line to buy them. Now, it's your

855
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:58,160
Speaker 1: turn rate and review. Thanks for listening, y'all, See you

856
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:03,160
Speaker 1: next week. Good Game, Pam, Good Game, Honeyduces Hugh, Margaret Court.

857
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:07,640
Speaker 1: Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports

858
00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:10,839
Speaker 1: production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You

859
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:13,960
Speaker 1: can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

860
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,640
Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,

861
00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:21,320
Speaker 1: our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive

862
00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:25,760
Speaker 1: producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.

863
00:42:26,200 --> 00:42:29,600
Speaker 1: Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and

864
00:42:29,680 --> 00:42:33,920
Speaker 1: Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance

865
00:42:33,960 --> 00:42:36,920
Speaker 1: from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain